Tanner Scheppers was a 6-foot shortstop with a quick arm who had never pitched in a game when Fresno State signed him in November of 2004 as a senior at California's Dana Hills High. Three years later, Scheppers has emerged as the Bulldogs' ace and a potential first-round pick.

The Reds are down to a flicker of hope of remaining in Sarasota. The Reds' new deal to rebuild Ed Smith Stadium is alive—although that was hard to tell among the proposals and counter proposals discussed and voted on by the Sarasota County Commission Jan. 22.